Dripping wet with a mouse in my hand

Well, I passed the Theory test this morning. 35 out of 35 on the multiple choice questions and 60 points out of a possible 75 on the hazard perception. I believe I would have gotten a higher score on the hazards if I hadn't held back like I did. If you click too many times, you could lose points for the whole clip you're watching (there were a total of 14 clips), so I was trying to think the way the DSA test designers would think. I guess I was too careful.

The test experience didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. You're supposed to arrive 10-15 minutes early, which I tried to do. It was raining this morning. I drove (illegally) to the test centre at 8am, but I didn't get to the front desk until about 8:45. Yeah, tell me about it. I was a bit mislead by the AA Routefinder directions I had printed out yesterday. It's my own fault, I should have done a bit more research before leaving. Then I wouldn't have walked the wrong way on Old Christchurch Road for about a mile in the rain before deciding that it was indeed the wrong direction. By the time I got to where I needed to go, I was quite drenched and sweaty (if I had gone the right way from the parking lot the first time, I would have gotten there in about 5 minutes and been reasonably dry). I pressed the buzzer for the test centre and the conversation went something like this:

Buzzer Lady: "Good morning..."

Me: "Morning, I have an appointment for the theory test."

Buzzer Lady: "Name?"

Me: "Peder Richardsen" (name changed on the blog to hide identity)

Buzzer Lady: "What time did you think your appointment was, exactly?"

Me: "I know. I'm really sorry. I thought I left with plenty of time, but then I got really lost and I've been running around out here in the rain for the last half hour. Very sorry."

Buzzer Lady: "Well, you better come on up. I don't know if you can sit the test, but come up and we'll see what we can do."

Me: "Ok. Thank you!"

I go inside and the building porter tells me it'll be fine, just sweet-talk her. He wishes me luck and I dart up the stairs, probably splattering rain-water and sweat everywhere. I apologize a few more times when I get to the test centre and she says the only way I can take the test is if I don't do the marketing and customer satisfaction surveys at the end. Uhm, OK. Perfectly fine with that. She tells me she could have given me a lift because she lives just near me. "Wish I'd known!" She asks about my American accent because it says my nationality is Danish. I explain why. She tells me to go hand my documents to her colleague around the corner. He takes me into another room where several people are well into their tests and shows me what I need to do.

The multiple choice section is a breeze and I whizz through it as I'm trying to stop sweating. I have to mop my brow with my wet shirt every few minutes. I click away at the answers. Then I move on to the hazard perception bit. This requires headphones. Impressively, they provide a moist towelette to clean the headphone ear-cups with. Being somewhat "hygiene conscious", I make use of this before and after the test. The hazard perception takes a little longer because you have to watch the 14 clips (about a minute, minute and a half each). Finally, the test is over. I skip the marketing and customer satisfaction surveys (damn, I really wanted to do those) and go back out to reception. Buzzer Lady's colleague hands me an embossed certificate stating that I passed, "Well done!". I thank him, go back downstairs, tell the porter I talked her into it and that I passed the test, head back to the car I'm not supposed to be driving, and drive to work without L-plates or a fully licensed driver accompanying me.

Anyway, I passed and it only took me about 30 minutes for the whole thing (not counting the journey there). Yahoo! On to the next test... the practical. I'm going to call them tomorrow to schedule it. Apparently there's usually a five-week waiting list, but hopefully I can get a cancelled appointment or something. I want to get this over with! I'll probably do a one or two hour session with a driving instructor before the test, though. Just to make sure I've got the correct driving habits to pass the test.